In one masterful stroke, Hideo Kojima is in control of the gaming discussion once again with the release of his first highly-anticipated game since his unceremonious split with Konami. Death Stranding is proving to be exactly what everyone perceived from the years of confusing trailers.
It’s weird. It’s bold. It’s unique. Apparently, it’s not for everyone. But, it’s 100% Hideo Kojima. While Kojima’s artistic storytelling might live on an entirely different level than the rest of us, his core gameplay experiences still seem to grasp us. While Death Stranding certainly contains a bit of DNA from Kojima’s legendary Metal Gear franchise, there’s a significant portion of this game that balks at traditional gaming conventions in favor of something rather unique.
10 Delivery Is The Game
Let’s start with the most obvious new function – delivery. For years, video games have produced mission after mission and quest after quest that requires players to carry an object from point A to point B or to retrieve items for a specified character. In fact, the term “fetch quest” appeared to distinguish these often-times mundane objectives.
Actually delivering packages as a basis for the entire game is something entirely new. While it may seem boring and mundane, it is anything but. Death Stranding places players in the wide-open world and leaves them a large sense of agency with regards to how they navigate. Unlike the cookie-cutter fetch quests of old, this element has sparked a sense of adventure in the game’s fans.
9 A Balancing Act
As part of your new-found profession in the virtual world, taking care of those packages becomes priority #1. As such, ensuring that you keep your two feet planted on solid ground becomes crucial. Tripping due to running too fast across rocky terrain or being pulled over by the weight of your unstable cargo can spell trouble if done too many times.
Damaging the goods will not work in your favor and will inevitably net you a lower score at the end of each delivery. If items become too damaged, they aren’t even deliverable and have to be regenerated and delivered once more. The game offers a way to help you manage your stability. When stacking cargo on Sam’s back, be sure to push the triangle button to auto-balance your cargo across your shoulders, thighs, and back for the most efficient way to maintain your balance.
8 Sharing Is Caring
The online world of Death Stranding isn’t like one might expect. Players never interact with one another face to face. However, the world of Death Stranding is populated with the structures, roads, vehicles, and materials other plays have chosen to build or contribute to the cause.
At times players might find that they must rely on other players' shared stash of materials or equipment. Shared lockers can be found at all outposts and anywhere on the map that a player has chosen to construct one. Take advantage of these extras, and be sure to share when you have more than you need.
7 Paving Highways Together
As already indicated, Death Stranding features constructs established by other players. Some structures, however, require a lot of materials such as roads. Building roads will make life easier for you and everyone you’re sharing the world with.
As you run to and fro delivering packages, you might stop at the interactive stations dotted across the landscape that allow you to deposit metals, ceramics, and chiral material for highway construction. Other players can contribute to this large demand as well. Eventually, roads will be built through this team effort.
6 Timefall
Those engaged in Death Stranding are very familiar with Timefall. Timefall is essentially rainy weather that creates two problems for you. First, it damages your gear. Timefall is a mysterious substance that causes whatever it touches to age rapidly.
Therefore, most of your containers begin to rust. Secondly, BTs are on the prowl. These nightmarish entities are essentially Kojima’s version of ghosts. They only seek to consume you. It’s crucial that you tread lightly and manage holding your breath when they hover near so that they don’t hear you. If they catch you, you must begin fighting to escape their pull. The convergence of these mechanics create an unconventional, yet stress-inducing experience.
5 Weaponizing Excrement
You read that right. Sam is in the peculiar position of having a genetic ability to fight off the BTs. His blood certainly does that as he learns early on with the creation of hematic grenades (blood grenades). Eventually, he can similarly weaponize his excrement.
Out in the wild, when players escape the reach of a BT just outside the blackened pool where it has anchored itself, Sam can unzip and offer up a repelling golden shower for the apparitions that sends them packing. Gross, but effective.
4 Hiking With Ladders
Traversing the treacherous wilderness can be daunting especially when you’ve chosen a mountainous path to reach your destination. Packing ladders for the trip will enable Sam to position them to scale steep terrain. They can even be placed as a bridge to walk across a chasm or a river.
Beyond ladders, players can also utilize climbing ropes. However, it’d be quite a challenge to wade back into the vast catalog of video games and find one where players could traverse rugged terrain with ladders.
3 Cargo, Equipment, & Vehicles Don’t Teleport
One “gaming” convention that we’re used to doesn’t exist in Death Stranding, thereby making the experience unconventional. In most games, equipment, materials, or vehicles can be accessed throughout the game. In Resident Evil 2 you can just place the items in your storage box and gain access to them from any storage box throughout.
In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey you can call your horse from any point in the large world despite leaving the steed two islands over. This convenience is gone. If you store materials in a private locker, they can only be accessed from that specific locker. If you ditch your vehicle, there it will remain. If you put a vehicle in the garage, it can only be accessed from that point. This is intentional as the point of the game is to manage these very things during your journey.
2 Blood Transfusions
Managing your stamina is important. But managing your blood levels is vital. Essentially, that is your life bar. However, you can steadily replenish it even in the middle of a fight by equipping a blood pack to yourself to replenish what you’re losing.
It’s a useful mechanic because players can always have one equipped to ensure Sam stays spry and healthy. It’s important to equip one before heading into a fight (if you can help it). Even if Sam’s life bar is full, the blood pack will automatically begin working whenever he takes damage.
1 Death Is Highly Ostracized
Not only is it important for Sam to stay alive (though he can resurrect himself), it’s also important that he displays a high regard for other human life during his journey. Most games focus players on defeating enemies in combat. Whether this is portrayed in a cartoony or realistic fashion, a form of inflicting death on enemy combatants always seems to be the goal.
While players can use lethal force on human enemies such as Mules, it is highly discouraged. The game punishes you for doing so. When people die in this world, they turn into the nightmarish BTs.